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Thursday, February 26, 2009

stamp::stencil

What is it about printing on fabric that makes me so wildly happy? I think it must have to do with the *poof*it's magicquality of transformation that happens to a humble piece of plain material. And it doesn't get much more humble than my favorite repurposed burlap. I'm very excited about my experiment with hand carved stamps for my root sacks. As much as I loved the saturated look of my stencils, I'm totally enjoying the softer, rustic look of the stamps. The slight translucence seems to lend itself perfectly to the organic shapes of onions and garlic and the texture of jute/burlap.

I do prefer stencils for bold letter graphics, though. I'll be selling one bag that says AJO.

El ajo is garlic in Spanish. I chose just to use the three letters for simplicity and balance. I'm learning so much by practicing and will share more of my process soon. In the mean time, visit Geninne for all of the basics on stamp carving. She's the stamping queen and one of my heroes!

I'd like to figure out a few more things... more effective stamp pads for paper vs. cloth/linen.

Less crumbly blocks for cutting. Not so pleased with the ones I just received from Blicks, so I just sent away for some different supplies from them. After I work out the kinks, I will be better versed in sharing this new skill. I also had a fabulous time working with my children on making some personal stamps. So look forward to some tips on creating stamps with children.

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These root sacks and more will be available in my shop in Friday's 1pm EST update.

Geninne is my hero too and a really kind and wonderfu friend. You have done a wonderful job with these stamps. The bulb images are so spring like life arising from the darkness of winter. Beautiful work . I can't wait to see your children's personal stamps.

I love that transformation too! Do you use fabric paints or do you mix acrylics with fabric medium...just curious. I guess if it is not an item that will be machine washed you could use just acrylics...thinking out loud here!

They look EXCELLENT! For a less crumbly medium, I recommend what we call in the letterboxing community "the pink stuff." It's available at the big craft stores, right next to the white crumbly stuff, and for the life of me, I can't remember what its actual name is. Anyway, it's smoother for carving, and it holds up to thousands of impressions. (Which is why we're all comfortable burying it in boxes in the woods for people to search out.) The only downside you might find is that it's thinner, so you'll have to mount it for a nice, even impression. It's very simple, with a small block of wood and a good glue, though.

Love the stamps and what you are using them for. I use Safety Kut or something like that. I have some pictures on my blog (in the December postings) of cards I made and sold at a Christmas sale. It is so much fun to carve my own stamps. I really enjoy your blog.

The stamps you made have such a beautiful organic quality to them - perfect for your burlap creations. I've never carved my own stamp, and I will be following along with your upcoming tutorial -- after all, if a child could do it, perhaps I could too!

i've made a few stamps with my kids... you'll love it! for speed (and safety) i let them figure out the drawing and i carve it. maybe this summer i'll relinquish the cutter and let them go at it. we use handmade stamps when we go letterboxing and my son just "made" one to use for his valentine.

I've been stalking your shop for your inspiration boards, but now I'll be watching for the lovely garlic and onion sacks, too! Your stamps are so beautiful. I love the simple black lines on the burlap. You might try Soft-Kut. I almost certain that I've used this type of print material before and it's very smooth and non-crumbly! http://www.dickblick.com/products/soft-kut-printing-blocks/

I have done alot of stamp carving and Staedler (? spelling) MasterCarve is great. The 3/4" thick blocks can be carved on both sides (2 for the price of 1)but it can be a little expensive. I have bought material from a website called Stampeaze the stuff is called PZ Cut and it is wonderful and comes in two colors orange which is hard to transfer pencil lines on and white which works great for transfers. It also comes in two grades A & B. I bought both and B has a little texture on one side which didn't bother me but I don't tend to worry about such things and it is cheaper. The A grade is great smooth stuff and the price is pretty good from what shopping I have done. I hope this helps you and keep carving it is fun and you always have the stamps to use. Also I love using my own designs and images in my art and not having to worry about copyright infringement. Enjoy! Diane

Your stamps are gorgeous and the bags look great! I really got into carving stamps after visiting Japan. I bought blocks of the carving material there. And yay for Geninne - her stamps are certainly an inspiration.